Chapter 9
my alarm clock awoke me up with a jolt. A weird feeling was in the air I could feel it. As I got up spotting the steel black Glock on my bed side table I slowly dragged myself out of my dreamily estate and started remembering who I was now. With that in mind the caution in the air was just about touchable. I slowly picked myself up and walked quietly around to my door. Just as I put my hand out to open it Gazzy barges in.
"Hurry up Iggy I'm gonna be late" Gazzy whined.
"okay let's go" I muttered.
Before leaving the house I took one last glance in a hallway mirror. The bags under my eyes caused by my lack of sleep and my bed head made me look like a drug user but right now my looks where the least of my worries. I watch as Gazzy runs before me going outside when I catch a glance of Lolo at my door. With a quick swift move I pull Gazzy back pin him to the wall in the hallway closet and motion for him to be quite.
He looks at me with the same worried face he use to always wear when he'd see mom and dad fight. I haven't seen that face in so long. I felt a pang of sympathy for this seven year old boy who had been Thur so much. I beg him with my eyes to stay put and be quite and he seems to understand. I go back out to the door just as Lolo knocks swiftly on the door.
"What's up Lolo" I ask at I come face to face with him.
Ever since last night my minds been too warped up in who to trust and who not to trust that I decided not to trust anyone and that Includes my long-term friend least for now it did.
"Got urgent Wolves New for you vato" Lolo replies cutting straight to the chase.
I nods my head in his direction telling him to go on. He does.
"Puppet and some of the other guys pulled off a big job for Chuy last night" Lolo explains to me.
"and what's that got to do with me?" I ask sternly, I didn't have time for his nonsense.
"It's got to do with you cause the job they pulled off what burning down the only high school on Eagle territory. We just got word that they'll be invading our school til there's back up."
Hmm so big bad Chuy fucked up? He went and planed a big job to hurt the Eagles and only ended up hurting himself because now Eagles were gonna be playing on his turf. Sonya's words replay in my mind like an old riddle. Chuy's has been slowly murdering my side. He sends them off to fake deals and then shoots them and makes it look like an accident. Great just what I needed for this to seem even more like some big game.
I nod in Lolo's direction giving off nothing. I expect him to leave but instead he continues talking.
"Because of this all high school gang members must represent and stick together." He nods at me and leaves.
I close the door and bring my brother out of the closet. Shit I had a lot of explaining to do.
"Iggy who was that?" my brother asked in a scared voice.
Not only was I bad at taking Max' spot in the streets but also at home. Max never would have let Gazzy and I find out things were bad. She always protected us from stuff like that. But I wasn't Max. But what I am is a Ride and a Ride never confronts an emotion until its our only choice so right now I was gonna act like a Ride.
"I'll explain later you're gonna be late."
After dropping off my brother I finally made it to school only a minute before the bell. As I make my way to my first period I quickly realize every Eagle and Wolf gang member not only wearing their bandanna's but staying completely far away from each other. I pull my Wolves banana from my pocket and slide it on. Better safe than sorry.
Even in class Wolves and Eagles refused to be seated next to each other. Both gangs took a side of the classroom sitting in groups on certain sides of the room. The Wolves sat in the black left corner of the room while the Eagles were forced to sit on the right side near the front. This didn't seem to be a problem until a group of Eagles including Ella were moved into my English classes.
Our English teacher didn't take any ones bullshit. For a 40 something year old woman she was tough as nails. Everyone in class respected her, most of the time out of fear she'd fail them. She was the only teacher who threatened to fail a student every day and who had actually failed a student for not having a pencil one time. She also had a no exception assigned seating chart that never changed.
That was the only class where the Eagles and Wolves were forced to sit besides each other. If you ask me Elmer had it all planned out and even found it pretty entertaining to watch the two sit as far away from each other as possible. Elmer placed an Eagle that went by Shaggy as my partner. I didn't really care. This guy look stoned out of his mind. What I did care about thou was the person Elmer seat right in front of me, Ella.
She was dressed in skin-tight midnight black ripped skinny jeans with a plain white muscle shirt and an old black leather jacket over it. Her hair hung loose in natural curls. She made a point to ignore me completely as she took her seat but I wasn't about to give in. This girl was interesting and honestly she was the only real thing I wanted to figure out.
When the bell rang interrupter Elmer's lecturer on her grading policy the student sprang to their feet racing towards the door and way from their rivals.
I caught up to Ella and whispered "Hey Classmate"
"I'm not talking to you" She mumbles back almost inaudible, the movement on her lips also nonexistent.
"why?" I asked beside her ear receiving the satisfaction of watching her shiver.
Ella grabs me by the collar and pulls me into a janitor room.
"Wow I knew you wanted me I didn't think it was that bad" I joke with her.
A half-smile appears but is quickly replaced by a sigh.
"We can't be friends I told you. Why can't you listen?" Ella mutters.
"I only listen to what I want too" I say sticking my tongue out at her.
I liked how I felt normal when I was with her. How I could be playful and forget all the serious stuff for once.
"I've tried treating you ignoring you and nothing works so please just listen to me we can't be friends" Ella says tried in her voice.
I nod feeling completely deprived. Ella looks thankful and takes a step back and turns to walk out the door. She stops for a second but then turns back around a softly kisses me on the lips. My eyes open wide completely stunned Didn't she just say we couldn't be friends? I wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her back full force. Just as I try to deepen the kiss she pulls back.
"I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I never did that, so thanks. But seriously we can't be friends, I'm sorry."
